Spare Tsarnaev News Today

As you point out, the nun, helen prejean, has been a crusader against the death penalty. she even wrote a book about it that was turned into a movie called "dead man walking." she came into this courthouse this morning. the expectation is she may well testify for the defense as it tries to convince this jury to spare tsarnaevs life. there will have been more than 40 witnesses and all of them trying to present this young man as someone who was persuaded by his older brother who was seen as a more...

Came from a dysfunctional family, who made bad decisions. were it not for tamerlan none of this would have happened. now, his family is expected here today, six members of his family that arrived from overseas. some of them may testify on his behalf to humanize him, to see if the jury will show some mercy. all 12 jurors must vote for the death penalty, otherwise hell receive life in prison and that would likely be at the super max in florence, colorado also called the alcatraz of the rockies. jo...

61% of them favor life in prison for him. massachusetts has reputation of being against the death penalty. state law doesnt allow capital punishment. its an option because hes tried in federal court. keep in mind the defense attorney judy clark has successfully saved several high profile clients including uni bomber, susan smith. picture of her here the mother that drove into the lake drowning her two young sons strapped in the back seat of her vehicle. elements that may help spare tsarnaevs lif...

>> everything will boil down to the death penalty phase. thats the number one objective for the defense. to spare tsarnaevs life. >> marci gonzalez, abc, boston. also happening today, a big test for obama care. facing a second major challenge before the supreme court. conservative opponents say the law does not authorize subsidies to make mandated health insurance affordable in 34 states. a ruling against the administration could lead to loss of coverage for millions of americans and the colla...

Continuing slump could indicate weakness in the u.s. economy. the dow lost more than 330 points after oil briefly dipped below $50 a barrel. those are some of our top stories on this tuesday, january 6th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." >> we begin with the death penalty trial in boston. this is the one theyve been waiting for for two years. the second day of jury selection gets under way for dzhokhar tsarnaev. >> the man accused of bringing the 2013 boston marathon to a t...

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